Page 49 of The Hero
“It’ll just take a minute. Donothang up. Understand?” JJ ordered.
“Yes.”
“Good. April, mute us for a second.”
There was a beeping noise, and Marlowe expected to hear music or silence ... but instead, she could still hear Kendric’s friends. Whatever April had pushed, it wasn’t the mute button.
“I can’t believe Bob’s been lying to us all these years!” Chappy exclaimed. “If he was bored, all he had to do was tell us. We would’ve gone with him on these rescue missions!”
“I think he knew that, but he probably also saw how happy we were to be here,” Cal replied.
“None of that matters right now. We have to figure out how to get him out of Cambodia and to a hospital,” JJ said urgently.
“Do you think the airport’s been alerted? That he’ll be blocked from leaving the country?” Chappy asked.
“I don’t know. But it’s a possibility. I need to figure out who this Willis person is and see what he had planned for their extraction,” JJ said.
“What do we do about the woman? She’s probably for sure on a watch list. It’s not as if she can waltz into the airport and breeze through customs,” Chappy observed.
“I can use my family’s connections and get Bob out without too much of an issue,” Cal said. “You guys know my parents pushed hard to get you three added to their unofficial-official list of people the royal family are willing to aid, after what you did for me when we were POWs. But that’s not going to help this Marlowe woman. I mean, the royal protection extends to our direct relatives, of course, so Carlise and June are covered. But Marlowe isn’t any relation. She’s going to be on her own unless we can figure out how to help her.”
“If you can get a plane headed to Cambodia,” JJ said, “I’ll see what I can dig up about her brother and Willis. Therehadto be a plan to fly her out. A fake ID and passport. It’ll just take a while to figure it out and get the ball rolling again.”
Marlowe’s stomach rolled at the thought of being left behind to fend for herself, but she’d do it if it meant Kendric would get the help he needed. Still, she couldn’t help but say “Excuse me?” when there was a lull in the conversation on the other end of the phone.
“What the hell, April? I thought you put it on mute?” JJ grumbled.
“I thought I did too! It’s a new phone, I must’ve pushed the wrong button.”
Marlowe wasn’t quite so sure. Something in the other woman’s tone made her think she’d left the line open on purpose. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it.
“I’m sorry, but I heard what you were saying. And please don’t think I’m going back on what I said earlier, about getting Kendric out and leaving me here. I’m not. I mean, that’s fine. But ... Cal, what you were talking about ... Does it make a difference if I tell you that Kendric and I are married?”
There was dead silence on the line, and Marlowe panicked momentarily, thinking they’d been cut off. Then Chappy said, “Holy shit! Really?”
“Yeah. I wouldn’t lie about that,” Marlowe told them.
“Looks like he’s moved as fast as we have,” Cal said, sounding almost amused. “How did that happen? Because I know for a fact he wasn’t married when he left here two weeks ago.”
“We were on our way to the border, and at one of the safe houses, there was a woman who was old fashioned or very religious or something. She’d agreed to hide us for the day, but she didn’t realize we were a man and a woman. I think she thought Marlowe was a guy’s name. Anyway, the hiding space was tiny, and she refused to let us stay there together unless we were man and wife. We figured it wasn’t a big deal, so ... we agreed.”
“You have any proof?” JJ asked.
“The lady gave us a marriage certificate before we left that night. It’s in Thai, and probably isn’t recorded yet or whatever,” she felt compelled to point out. “And we only did it to avoid looking for another safe place to stay.”
“Bob doesn’t doanythinghe doesn’t want to do,” Chappy said. “He could’ve figured out something else instead of getting married if he’d really wanted to.”
At the man’s words, Marlowe’s toes curled in the cheap shoes Kendric had found for her. Shehadbeen surprised at how quickly he’d acquiesced to getting married, but she’d figured he was even less interested in finding them another place to hide out for the day.
“I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that first Chappy, then Cal, and nowBobwere all forced to share beds with women they ended up married to,” April said, sounding quite happy for her friends and employers.
“That’s that, then,” Cal said, ignoring April’s comment. “You and Bob are married, which means my people can get you both back to the States without fuss. Stay put, Marlowe. We’ll come to you.”
“Really? Soon?” Marlowe asked.
“Well, not me specifically,” Cal said. “We’re too far away to get there as fast as it sounds like Bob needs us to. Liechtenstein is closer. I’ll make a call after we hang up. My people will have identification and passports for you and Bob, and hopefully there won’t be a problem with customs. With the royal family vouching for both of you, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
It sounded too good to be true to Marlowe, but she wasn’t going to complain. “Okay.”
